An independent, student-run newspaper serving the Virginia Tech community since 1903

www.collegiatetimes.com

COLLEGIATETIMES
109th year, issue 5

News, page 1

Arts & Entertainment, page 2

Opinions, page 3

Sports, page 5

MEGAUPLOAD

CLOSURE OF POPULAR UPLOADING SITE SPARKS
RETALIATION, MIGRATION TO SIMILAR SITES
BY NICK CAFFERKY | news editor

“

office.
Anonymous is infamous for hacks like these
that have been organized through the website
“4chan” and sees itself as a “consciousness
focused on actively campaigning for the free
flow of information and accountability.”
And while many people would view such
acts as wrong and even go as far as to brand
the group as cyber-terrorists, there are students who, at least partially, believe in what
Anonymous does.
“I support what Anonymous does,” said
Jimmy Gilinsky, a sophomore ocean engineering major. “I mean, it’s the Internet — it’s free
exchange of ideas. And the fact that the government is stepping in, that’s where the issue is.
“The argument against pirating is, ‘What if
you write a book and then one person buys
it and then they put it somewhere where
millions of people can read it for free without
paying for it?’ You just described a library,” he
said. “That’s literally all these sites are — they’re
online libraries.”
Still, even with all of the recent attention on
online piracy, most students say they will not
change their habits, explaining the void created by Megaupload’s downfall will be filled by
another just like it.
“If you really know what you’re doing
with technology, it won’t matter; you’ll
just torrent, you’ll use one of the 50 million other sites that are out there,” Gilinsky
said. “Megaupload was the one that most
people who didn’t know what they were
doing went to, so I don’t think it will have as
much of an impact as the government would
like.”
Kim Dotcom, Megaupload’s founder,
remains firm in his stance that the charges
are exaggerated and has hired high-powered
Washington, D.C. attorney Robert Bennett,
who is best known for serving as President
Bill Clinton’s attorney when he was accused of
sexual harassment.

PIPA and SOPA postponed after outcry
MICHELLE SUTHERLAND
news editor
On Friday, Jan. 20, Harry Reid (D-Nev.),
the Senate Majority Leader, postponed the
Senate vote on the Protect I.P. Act, also
known as PIPA. Shortly after, Rep. Lamar
Smith (R-TX), delayed the vote on the Stop
Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Both votes
were originally scheduled for today.
The bills would have given the Department
of Justice power to order websites to remove
links that direct to foreign websites with
pirated American material. Existing copyright laws already give the department
power to take down websites with U.S. servers and domains that have pirated material,
such as Megaupload.
Although the bills were mainly intended to
attack foreign websites, the vague wording of
the bill prompted fears of censorship.
“Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet,” Wikimedia
Foundation, the non-profit organization
that operates Wikipedia, said in a statement.
“If passed, this legislation will harm the
free and open Internet and bring out new
tools for censorship of international websites
inside the United States.”
However, lawmakers and websites alike
concede that it is important to stop the foreign piracy that robs American music and
filmmakers of royalties.
“Members of Congress are trying to do
the right thing by going after pirates and
counterfeiters, but SOPA and PIPA are the
wrong way to do it,” Google said in a statement on Jan. 18.

Wayne More, an associate professor of
political science with a concentration in constitutional law, also expressed misgivings.
“Even the opponents of the bill concede
that it’s legitimate to try and create a mechanism to prevent illegitimate encroachment
on rights,” he said. “The concern here is
that these two bills may create mechanisms
that limit legitimate expressions of ideas.
And complicating that, what’s protected and
what’s not protected isn’t always clear, especially at the margins.”
But supporters argue the bills are a necessary step to stop intellectual property theft.
“Our industry not only fully supports free
expression, (but) our livelihood is built upon
a vibrant First Amendment — it is the foundation of our industry, and we would never
support any legislation that would limit this
fundamental American right,” said Michael
O’Leary, a senior executive vice president of
the Motion Picture Association of America,
in a statement on Jan. 14.
“As had been made clear throughout the
legislative consideration of SOPA and the
PROTECT-IP Act, neither of these bills
implicate free expression, but focus solely
on illegal conduct, which is not free speech.”
The decisions to postpone voting came
after a momentous push by grassroots citizens and major websites to thwart the bills.
Wikipedia and other websites “blacked
out” in protest to the bills on Jan. 18. Other
Internet giants, such as Google, Facebook
and Twitter, issued statements encouraging
users to contact their senators and congressmen, urging them to stop the bill.
In favor of the bill was the Copyright
Alliance, which includes CBS, Burberry, Walt
Disney Studios, Viacom, NBCUniversal,

Sudoku, page 4

Suspects
wanted
for armed
robbery

SHUT DOWN
In a week that was headlined by Wikipedia not belong to them — something the U.S.
and others blacking out in protest to legislation Attorney’s Office contends Megaupload knew,
aimed to combat online piracy, the United but neglected to act on because of the profits
States Federal Government responded with a it was seeing.
statement of its own, shutting down one of the
Just like it was with Napster before its shutmany sites the bill is intended to attack.
down in 2001, a significant percentage of
Last Friday, Jan. 20, Megaupload Limited Megaupload’s viewership is made up of college
was officially closed by the FBI and charged students all over the country.
with a myriad of crimes from the U.S. District
Virginia Tech is no different.
Court, including conspiracy to commit rack“I probably used it once or twice a week for
eteering and conspiracy to commit copyright TV shows, just because it would always kick
infringement.
you off after 72 minutes,” said Lauren Engel,
“According to the
a senior marketindictment, for more
ing management
than five years the
major. “But my
conspiracy has operroommate used
IF
YOU
REALLY
KNOW
ated websites that
it for everything
WHAT YOU’RE DOING WITH — textbooks,
unlawfully reproduce and distribute
music, movies, I
TECHNOLOGY, IT WON’T
infringing copies of
think even video
copyrighted works,
games.”
MATTER; YOU’LL JUST
including
movBut college
TORRENT, YOU’LL USE
ies — often before
students aren’t
their
theatrical
the only people
ONE OF THE 50 MILLION
release,” said the U.S.
unhappy about
OTHER SITES THAT ARE OUT the shutdown;
Attorney’s Office in
a statement on its
several organizaTHERE.”
website.
tions have gone
JIMMY GILINSKY public with their
Founded in 2005,
SOPHOMORE OCEAN ENGINEERING worries about
Megaupload.com
has been one of
what precedent
many sites that users have used to illegally this could set. One group of cyber-hackers,
upload and stream copyrighted media.
known only as “Anonymous,” has been the
It is estimated to be as high as the No. 13 most outspoken.
visited site on the Internet and claims to have
In a series of Tweets from one of its many
up to 50 million users a day, according to the accounts, the group denounced the shut
indictment.
down, telling followers, “This is one of those,
Megaupload is one of many websites known ‘First they came for … ’ moments. Join Us &
as a “cyberlocker,” meaning it is a digital host Fight for Internet Freedom!”
that shares legally obtained files that would be
After that message, the group immediatetoo large to send in an email.
ly went to work, hacking into and shutting
However, problems have arisen from the down 14 different sites, including those of
fact that the majority of its usage has been the Department of Justice, the White House,
from people uploading content that does Warner Music Group and the U.S. Copyright

Study Break, page 4

the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the
Motion Picture Association of America.
Although the political climate was
not ripe for the two bills, Reid emphasized the need for lawmakers to establish intellectual property laws to protect
Americans.
“Counterfeiting and piracy cost the
American economy billions of dollars and
thousands of jobs each year, with the movie
industry alone supporting over 2.2 million jobs,” Reid said in a statement on Jan.
20.
“We must take action to stop these illegal
practices. We live in a country where people
rightfully expect to be fairly compensated
for a day’s work, whether that person is
a miner in the high desert of Nevada, an
independent band in New York City, or a
union worker on the back lots of a California
movie studio.”
Kelsey Jo Starr contributed to this report.

Companies in favor
CBS
VIACOM
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
NBCUNIVERSAL

Companies opposed
WIKIMEDIA FOUNDATION
GOOGLE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER

NICK CAFFERKY
news editor
The Blacksburg Police
Department is looking for three
suspects implicated in a home
invasion and armed robbery
that occurred at approximately
6:25 p.m. yesterday, Jan. 23, to
the Orchard Lane area of town,
according to a press release.
According to the alleged victim, the three men — one brandishing a weapon — entered the
home and removed several items
of value before fleeing the scene.
The first suspect, who was
apparently possessing a weapon,
was described as being a black
male with “cornrows.” The second suspect was said to be either
Hispanic or black. The victim
was unable to identify the third
suspect.
Police were able to make a
computer composite of the first
suspect and are asking anyone
with knowledge of the incident
in question to call 540-961-1150.
Anonymous information can be
given by calling 540-961-1819 or
emailing clu@blacksburg.gov

Fox to start
Spanish
news station
with RCN
JOE FLINT
mcclatchy newspapers
LOS ANGELES — News
Corp.’s Fox International
Channels and RCN Television
Group, a Colombian broadcaster,
are teaming up to launch a Latino
broadcast network in the United
States.
The new channel, dubbed
MundoFox, will launch in the
fall of this year. The Spanishlanguage channel will look to
compete against Univision and
the Telemundo network, both
of which have big head starts.
News Corp. and RCN made
the announcement Monday
at the National Association of
Television Program Executives
conference in Miami.
For News Corp., the push represents the growing importance
of the Latino demographic in the
United States. The media giant
already owns Fox Deportes, a
cable sports channel that caters to
Spanish-speaking viewers.
“There is an increasing demand
for quality Spanish-language
content in the U.S. from both
viewers and advertisers. Fox
saw similar dynamics in play
25 years ago when it launched
the Fox network, and it would
be a missed opportunity not to
provide an alternative for the 50
million plus Latino viewers who
currently have limited options
in Spanish-language broadcast
television,” said Hernan Lopez,
president and chief executive of
Fox International Channels.
RCN, which already provides
programming to other Latino
channels in the U.S., will be heavily involved in creating original
content for MundoFox.

crobatic
sparring
scenes, shooto u t s in the streets of Dublin, a rogue
agent fighting for her life — the formula
for a great action thriller, right? Wrong.
Steven Soderbergh’s newest film,
“Haywire,” has the same formulaic plot
of almost every movie in the espionage
genre. Even beautifully choreographed
fight scenes and Soderbergh’s track
record of great movies cannot help the
fact that “Haywire” is a bore.
Gina Carano stars as a skilled private
agent hired by the U.S. government to
complete certain missions, such as rescuing political hostages. Carano, who
was unknown to me prior to watching
the film, is primarily a mixed martial
arts champion. Acting is her secondary niche. Because of her background,
I assume that many of the stunts were
actually performed by Carano and not
a stunt double.
The film’s greatest strengths are the
fight scenes featuring Carano. Typically,
action movies create fight scenes out of
a pile of two-second shots. The camera
never focuses on any aspect or angle too
long. Whether this is to heighten the
drama or conceal the fact the actor cannot actually back flip 10 feet into the air
depends on the movie.
However, “Haywire” lets the viewer
actually see fights occur. Composed of
only a few shots, the camera moves with
the actors, changing angles only when
necessary. I found myself understanding
the rhythm of the fistfights, rather than
drooling at a montage of 500 different
cutaways and slow-motion high kicks.
Carano turns her battles into complicated dances.
Unfortunately, the negatives outnumber the positives of this movie. Wellknown actors Michael Douglas and
Ewan McGregor co-star, but Channing
Tatum overshadows their more-refined
talents. He doesn’t have a major role,
but his oafish acting steals any scene he
appears in.
I hate to bash Tatum; he seems like
a nice person in real life. However, his
acting is just abominable. I have seen
extras with more talent than him. Still,

he is the one making millions of dollars
from his subpar performances, so while
I may laugh at him in the theaters, he
is the one really cracking up. After all, I
paid to see his movie.
Altogether, “Haywire” is not a bad
film. It is fast paced and is not bogged
down with any meaningless subplots or
goopy romances. What really bothered
me was that I felt like I had seen this
type of movie before — more than once.
Although the protagonist is female,
which is unique in the genre, the rest of
the movie felt stale.
It seems like every few months another film comes out boasting an actionpacked adventure about a secret agent
who has been framed. Sure, you could
make the argument that if one really
looks at the different genres, there are
only a few different story lines that can
actually occur. Each director is merely
imagining it in a slightly different way.
But when I can predict the outcome
of the movie in the first five minutes,
there is a problem. An exception to this
is a bad disaster movie like “2012” or
“Independence Day.” They’re completely predictable but somehow completely
irresistible to me.
Again, “Haywire” is not bad. Carano
shines with her spry movement and
badass attitude. The editing is well done
and the whole movie flows, leaving
viewers little time to catch their breath.
But I can’t overlook the overdone storyline.
“Haywire” was good, but not good
enough to keep me from staring at my
watch every 20 minutes and sighing
when my predictions played out. If you
are a fan of this sort of movie, then you
will probably enjoy it. For those who are
a little more wary of seeing it, I would
suggest you rent “The Bourne Identity”
(2002) instead. Matt Damon may not
really know how to defeat dozens of
highly trained special agents, but he sure
makes it interesting.

from Anonymous: When will people learn that

equal means equal, not special.These women
wanted higher pay then their experience deserved
just because they women. That’s not equal.Good
on this jury, I hope they continue to lose appeals.

Apple unveils textbooks for iPad

From Anonymous: For the record, there is a
Kindle app on pretty much every platform that is
still relevant (even Blackberry! Though its relevancy
is debatable) All of these Kindle apps can access
Amazon digital textbooks. Apple was not the first
to put textbooks on tablets.
From Anonymous: This will neither
revolutionize nor improve things. If you feel you
are being ripped off now by exorbitant prices for
text books, think about not having a used market.
Think about every quarter a new edition could be
required. Think about being locked in to the ipad.
Don’t have one? too bad! Can’t store all your text
books on your version so sorry you will need an
iPad with a data plan and cloud storage. Want
to view that text book on windows? Nope, Unix?
Nope...This “solution” is more walled garden from
Apple and students have little to gain from this
other than higher costs few options.
Legalizing marijuana remains a popular

Students tackle fitness resolutions
ALLIE SIVAK
features staff writer
Each year, when the clock strikes
midnight and calendars flip to Jan.
1, people everywhere feel a jolt of
inspiration to change their habits and
lifestyle.
The cause for this sudden burst of
motivation does not come from the
champagne, but rather from the idea
of a new year and a fresh, clean slate.

The morning after New Year’s Eve
is when individuals reflect on their
memories (of varying clarity) from
the previous night and smile as they
vow to be better human beings.
According to USA.gov, Americans
most commonly resolve at the start
of each new year to lose weight, save
money, get a better job, get fit, eat
healthily, get a better education, drink
less, reduce stress, quit smoking, take
more interesting trips and help others
more often.

Walking through McComas Hall
in the past week indicated that
many chose losing weight or getting fit as their resolution. Gymgoers had to push through hordes
of sweaty students to search for an
open StairMaster to begin toning that
gluteus maximus in preparation for
beach season.
Every inch of the gym is filled with
women who want to fit into their itsybitsy, teenie-weenie, yellow polka-dot
bikinis and men who want to be buff
enough to impress them.
“Working out is an especially
big resolution for people in college
because spring break (is) right around
the corner,” said Brianna Nielsen, a
senior psychology major who often
makes her way to the gym throughout the year and recently began teaching Pilates classes.
“I’ve definitely noticed that
the attendance in exercise classes is really big right after New
Year’s and right up until spring
break.”
Like most resolutions, eating healthily and exercising are
noble goals, yet are often carried
out in unhealthy or ineffective
manners.
“I think it’s a good way to give
yourself a goal, but no one seems
to follow through on their resolutions,” said Alex Bauroth,
freshman general engineering
major.
In fact, people typically approach
high-shooting resolutions at full
speed initially. But soon it becomes
possible again to walk around the

Now Recruiting for Fall 2012

If you’re interested in Free Rent and a Resume Building Job Opportunity

We’re looking for you!
Are you customer service oriented with great time management skills? Windsor Hills Apartments is looking for student leaders to fill
part-time positions in Fall 2012. Candidates must be committed to customer service for student leaders to fill part-time positions in
Fall 2012. Candidates must be committed to customer service and must have superior time management skills.
Applications are due February 5, 2012.
Job Description:
Organize social, recreational and educational activities
Work assigned office shifts (15-20 hours per week)
Complete site assessments of community
Attend weekly meetings
Maintain consistent hours of availability
Support and enforce the property lease, policies and regulations
Communicate campus activities to community
Requirements:
Application must showcase strong writing skills and attention to detail
Sales experience preferred
Full time VA Tech student
2.5 overall GPA
Sophomore or Junior standing
Have previously lived on campus for at least one year
Good discipline standing with school and community
Limit course load to no more than 18 hours
Must live at Windsor Hills during employment

gym without bumping into people, as
the crowd of resolution-makers thins
— usually before reaching their goal
to lose weight.
Like all things new, the idea of positive change is exciting at first, but
as 2012 becomes less “new,” motivation to achieve resolutions may
fade.
“I think people’s resolutions to
work out are not effective because
it makes the gym really crowded, and people always get burnt
out after about a month,” said Jeff
Dale, a sophomore management
major.
With that in mind, it might be wise
for people to make an additional resolution to stay on track.
“People kind of taper off in exercise classes as the semester goes by,”
Nielsen said. “I feel like you need to
set your sights on something more
than spring break. It’s got to be about
feeling good and really committing
to it.”
At McComas, events such as
Free Week, which offers free exercise classes during the first week of
the semester, are geared to generate
interest in new workout programs
and regimens for those with “get fit”
resolutions to add to their fitness
routines.
The lines for these classes in the
following weeks, accompanied by
the number of workout machines
in use at the gym, will be the true
sign of whether this year is any
different when it comes to students following through on their
goals.

decriminalized. Thank our Prison Industrial
Complex for mandating growth in the number of
incarcerations. Without drug laws, how would
our society easily lock up people of color or other
social groups deemed inadequate?

From malcolm kyle: Jury Nullification is a

constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit
defendants who are technically guilty, but, due
to their actions involving consensual adults only,
do not deserve punishment. All non-violent ‘drug
offenders’ who are not selling to children, be
they users, dealers, and even importers, clearly
belong in this category. If you sincerely believe
that prohibition is both a dangerous and counterproductive policy, then you don’t have to help to
apply it. When it comes to acquittals, you, the
juror, have the very last word! *It only takes one
juror to prevent a guilty verdict. * You are not
lawfully required to disclose your voting intention
before taking your seat on a jury.* You are also not
required to give a reason to the other jurors for
your position when voting - just simply state you
find the accused not guilty.Create what you can
no longer afford to wait for - PLEASE VOTE TO
ACQUIT!

From AFH: Marijuana should be regulated
in the same manner we do wine. It is an
adult discretionary activity and we already
know how to protect children from that.
California is trying to do it right now.http://
regulatemarijuanalikewine.com

osh
Trebach’s
article
“Overpopulation: A US Issue”
(Jan. 19) lacks credibility. You
state that the “environment cannot sustain more people — we
cannot even sustain everyone in
the world today.” Your claims are
unsubstantiated and misleading.
There is more food being produced per capita than at any
point in history according to The
Economist magazine. In fact, the
proportion of starving people
in the world has declined from
about 35 percent in 1970 to about
18 percent in 1990.
As recently as 2010, the proportion of starving people
has dropped to 13.6 percent.
These statistics are straight
from the Food and Agriculture
Organization. You can judge
for yourself whether you think
we are in danger of “breeding ourselves to our own
demise.”
In addition, “carrying capacity” of the environment cannot
be used to defend his claim that
population is growing at a threatening rate. Carrying capacity
refers to the amount of people
that can be sustained in the cur-

rent environment, for example,
with the current technology. The
developments in agricultural
technology have consistently
increased food production at
a higher rate than population
growth.
A basic understanding of economics would also help set the
record straight. When a resource
becomes more scarce, it becomes
more highly valued. The higher
price attached to that resource
discourages people from seeking more of it. So in this case,
if the means of human survival
decline, the birthrate also will
decline without any “deliberate
precautions.”
Frankly, your conclusion “we
need to take deliberate precautions to guarantee sustainable
population growth right now,” is
a little startling. Not only are you
basing this claim on an unsound
premises, you stop just short
of saying people should not be
free to decide how many kids to
have. And this comes after you
argue against politicians being in
Americans’ bedrooms. This is an
outrageous suggestion, especially
because it is not substantiated
with facts.
-Dalton Kissell
senior economics major

of 2010, according to a recent
report from the Pew Research
Center, married couples had fallen to
barely 51 percent of U.S. households
with a full 5 percent drop in new marriages between 2009 and 2010 alone.
The data for 2011 isn’t in yet, but if that
decline continued last year, less than
half of American adults are in a legal
marriage now.
Is marriage going the way of the
electric typewriter and the VHS tape?
Not exactly.
The decline of marriage seems especially dramatic in comparison to the
way things were 50 years ago. In 1960,
almost half of 18- to 24-year-olds and
82 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds were
married. In 2010, the comparable figures were 9 percent and 44 percent.
Ironically, 50 years ago, what had
everyone worried was the rapid rise
in the proportion of married-couple
households, as young people rushed
to the altar.
The age of marriage has been falling
since 1900, but it plummeted between
1940 and 1955, when the average age of
first marriages for women dropped by
twice as much as in the preceding halfcentury. By 1960, half of all women
were married by the age of 20.
Experts sounded the alarm. The 1962
annual conference of the Child Study
Association of America proclaimed
early marriage part of a disturbing,
“lowering of standards in the areas of
marriage, schooling, employment and
the formulation of long-term goals.”
Educators and psychiatrists blamed
the problem on parents too concerned
with their children’s “immediate happiness,” insisting they exercise “selfcontrol.” Sound familiar? Dozens of
articles urged young people to say no
to marriage until they had completed
their education, demonstrated their
ability to, as the New York Times put it
in a 1959 article, “afford the kind of (living) quarters they will need and want.”
To almost everyone’s surprise, the
next generations of youth followed that
advice. Today, the average age of first
marriage is almost 27 for women and
29 for men, up from 20 and 22 in 1960.
This does not mean marriage is an
endangered institution. True, there are
more divorced people in today’s population than in 1960, but divorce rates
have been falling for 30 years. It also
appears that more individuals than in
the past will remain unmarried all their
lives — perhaps 15 percent, compared
with the historical norm of 10 percent.
But with more people marrying for the
first time as late as their 60s, we can’t
even be sure of that. As gays and lesbians gain marriage rights, the proportion of married young adults may rise.
Still, the last half-century has seen
a momentous change in the role that
marriage plays in organizing lives.
Marriage used to be almost mandatory, one of the first things people did
when they left home. It was not a
decision that required much deliberation or even deep knowledge of one’s
prospective partner. In the 1950s, the
average bride and groom had known
each other for only six months.
Interviewing men and women who
married in the 1950s and 1960s, I was
struck by the similarities in how they
explained their decision to marry: “It
was time to settle down”; “I was 23 and
people were starting to wonder”; “You
just did it, that’s all.” Alternatively, many
“had” to marry; almost half of teenage

brides were pregnant at the time of
their wedding.
Fifty years ago, getting married was
a step young people took on the road
to becoming economically secure,
emotionally responsible and socially
respectable. Today, marriage is more
often the reward acquired once couples
have achieved those goals. The vast
majority of new marriages are between
couples that have already cohabited.
Many cohabiting couples refuse to
marry until they are convinced that
each partner has demonstrated his or
her economic and emotional reliability.
There are many positive aspects to
people’s more deliberative approach to
marriage. Every year a woman postpones marriage, up until her early 30s,
lowers her chance of divorce. This is
largely due to individuals no longer
feeling forced to enter or stay in a
bad marriage. Domestic violence rates
within marriage have fallen by more
than 30 percent over the last three
decades.
The transformation of marriage has
posed particular challenges for individuals from low-income communities
and with low educational levels. In
1960, even a college-educated woman
typically earned less than a man with
only a high school degree, so getting
married was the best investment a
woman could make in her future.
Even a male high school dropout
was a pretty good “catch” because rising real wages usually allowed him
to earn enough to support a family
within a few years of finding a steady
job. However, since 1969, the wages
earned by men with a high school
diploma have dropped by 47 percent.
Last month, while more than 1 million
workers with bachelor’s degrees found
jobs, half a million high school graduates lost their jobs.
This means that a woman whose
pool of marriage candidates does not
include someone with a college degree
has good reason to be cautious about
marrying, even if she gets pregnant.
If she forgoes investing in her own
education or curtails her own work
hours, as a woman frequently does
upon marriage, she may end up worse
off economically, as well as emotionally, than if she had remained single.
Couples in low-income communities
now consistently tell researchers that
they will not marry until they have
achieved enough economic stability to
give them a shot at sustaining a lifelong
relationship.
So the widening gap between the
haves and the have-nots has been paralleled by a widening gap between the “I
do’s” and the “I do not’s.” Unfortunately,
not being married further exacerbates
social inequality because the majority of marriages now involve two
wage earners, multiplying the advantage of those who can form stable,
committed partnerships and avoid
divorce.
Marriage isn’t disappearing. Most
unmarried Americans say they want to
eventually marry, and the vast majority
will do so. But even in the best of times
— which these are not — we’re unlikely
to see people returning to early and lifelong marriage. That bus left the station
a long time ago, and it’s been going in
the opposite direction ever since.

STEPHANIE COONTZ
-mcclatchy newspapers

N

ewt Gingrich, the Republican
presidential hopeful, picked
up momentum thanks to an upset
victory in the South Carolina primary over the weekend. Since his
win, Gingrich has sought to portray
himself as the candidate with the
most appeal for conservative voters and the most ability to unseat
President Obama in a national
election.
Throughout debates and the
buildup to the South Carolina primary,
Gingrich
claimed the moral
high ground. The
voters weren’t even
distracted by former rival Rick Perry
resigning his campaign for the presidency and throwing
his support behind
Gingrich.
However,
he
might want to
rethink the claims
he made during
debates about values before trying to
claim superior morality, especially
in light of the shocking revelation that he asked his second wife,
Marianne, if they could have an open
marriage.
After she refused his request for
an open marriage, he asked for a
divorce — despite the fact that she
had just been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and the doctors had
told Gingrich not to put any stress

“

on her. I don’t know whom Gingrich
hangs out with, but I’m pretty sure
an open marriage does not fall
into the category of American
“values.”
Yet, in spite of the scandal,
Gingrich has somehow managed
to come out on top of the scandal
by painting himself as the victim,
garnering voters’ sympathies for
despicable behavior that he himself
would decry if it concerned another
politician.

WHAT IS WORSE IS THAT
GINGRICH HAS THE
AUDACITY TO SAY SAMESEX COUPLES WHO HAVE
BEEN TOGETHER FOR
YEARS ARE IMMORAL AND
A THREAT TO AMERICAN
VALUES.”
What is frustrating to see is the
hypocrisy of the situation. How
does Newt “Mr. Family Values”
Gingrich fail to see the hypocrisy
of his actions again and again, and
how can conservative voters continue to support someone who
clearly needs a refresher course
on what “family values” really
are?

What is worse is that Gingrich has
the audacity to say same-sex couples
who have been together for years are
immoral and a threat to American
values.
Yes, marriage rates in the
United States have been declining. A Pew poll from 2010 found
four out of 10 people believe
the institution is becoming
obsolete. Yet, our favorite TV
shows and movies still correlate happy endings with marrying mates and living happily ever
after.
Gay marriage is a hot-button issue precisely because the
United States values marriage
so much. As a country, we might
simultaneously have an overdeveloped idealism and cynicism about romance, but we still
like seeing happy pairs in the Oval
Office.
The worst about Gingrich
is the hypocrisy of his preaching
about preserving the institution
of marriage, while simultaneously laughing in its face with his
conduct.
Although I am sure most
Republicans really do care about
family values and marriage, the
South Carolina voters seem more
concerned with beating President
Obama.
Why else would anyone vote for
a man so sure and committed to
denying the rights to millions of
same-sex couples on grounds of preserving “values” he clearly does not

have?
If the Republican Party wants to
be the party that defends morality and American values, then
their candidates should not be
hypocritical. If Gingrich wants to
run as the man who stands for
the traditional institution of marriage, he might want to actually practice having a traditional
marriage.
Gingrich has even been a leader
in denouncing extramarital affairs.
In the 1990s, when Gingrich was
Speaker of the House, he vocally
criticized then-President Bill
Clinton for committing adultery
— while he was happily committing the same act against his own
wife.
Writer Amy Gehrt sums up
Gingrich’s hypocrisy the best:
“which is a bigger threat to family
values — a gay couple who wants
to spend the rest of their lives in
a monogamous marriage, or the
three-times married serial cheater
who thought nothing of repeatedly tossing aside his solemn marriage vows, or of casually seeking a very untraditional open
marriage?”

JEFF
HOMAN
-regular columnist
-junior
-history major

Egypt, Iran fight for democracy
O

ver the past few months, I
have been asking friends,
family
and
acquaintances
whether they would rather live
in Egypt or Iran. I asked them to
reconsider the question based on
their gender and economic status.
The answer was almost always
Egypt.
Yet, Iran is more economically developed than Egypt.
It has about twice the per capita
GDP and spends two to three
times as much on health care per
capita.
An Iranian is more likely to
have household access to electricity, piped water and indoor
plumbing than an Egyptian —
this is especially true for a poor
Iranian.
Egypt is more equal in terms
of income and student academic achievement. It also has
slightly more freedom with
respect to civil liberties than Iran,
according to Freedom House,
but the same level of restriction in
political rights. Some also argue
that women’s rights are better in
Egypt.
Both countries suffer from
high unemployment rates, especially for those in their late teens
and twenties. Both have large
public sectors and restrictive governments, in which women are
repressed.
When compared to developed
countries, both are very poor
and quite far behind the West in
political, educational and economic freedom. But people in
both countries are fighting for
improvements.
And since they are important players in U.S. foreign relations (Egypt

is a large recipient of U.S. foreign
aid; Iran is a recipient of ire), the
West should keep a close eye on the
movements.
In Egypt, the fight is visible and
dramatic. Tired of poor living
conditions, inequality and unresponsiveness, Egyptians staged
protests last year, culminating in
revolution.
This movement was costly, however, hurting tourism and infrastructure, slowing the economy, and
leading to many deaths and much
disorder.
Unfortunately, despite the revolution, it is unclear whether Egypt
will transition to democracy.
There is a risk the same political institutions will stay in place,
and Egypt’s new rulers will be
similar to the old. There is also a
risk the new rulers may institute changes so radical they lead
to a conservative backlash and
coup.
In Iran, the fight is hidden and
slow. Young men are becoming
more open to treating their wives
as equals. Women in Tehran dye
their hair bright, attractive colors to test boundaries and irritate morality police. President
Ahmadinejad clashes with Ayatollah
Khamenei over progressive
reforms.
Female activists work to extract
concessions on divorce and family law. Filmmakers portray divorce,
infidelity, class divides and failings of the justice system in their
movies.
In “Economic Origins of
Dictatorship and Democracy,”
authors Daron Acemoglu and
James Robinson identify two paths
to democracy. The first is the path

Egypt may be on — the path toward
unstable, unconsolidated democracy.
This is the path Argentina followed in the 20th century, when
revolutionary governments instituted reforms so radical that they
led to a conservative coup, which
eventually became so oppressive
that revolution occurred again. The
process is broken when the ruling
party favors concessions over violent repression. Without improvements, Egypt may be headed for
misfortune.
The other path is stable, consolidated democracy. Under this
path, the ruling elite slowly concede rights to obtain increased
social order. This is the long and
gradual path England followed,
starting with the Reform Act of
1832 (or perhaps earlier, with
the Glorious Revolution of 1688)
and culminating in 1928 with
the full enfranchisement of
women.
Along the way, ruling elites were
periodically threatened by the people, first with violent insurrections
and eventually with public protests. Each time, rulers gave small
concessions in exchange for social
order.
Perhaps the biggest source of
hope, for both countries, is family. Over the past 30 years, fertility rates have dropped dramatically in Egypt and Iran. This is a
sign that families are beginning
to place more value on human
capital.
Both countries have high education levels, and it seems that people
are having fewer offspring so they
can focus on making sure their children receive strong educations, in

hopes become employed and prosper.
But if that investment does
not pay off, it is possible that
these children will push their
governments
for
reforms
as adults — a trend already
being observed in the Middle
East.
In “The Age of Uncertainty,”
economist
John
Kenneth
Galbraith discusses the idea
of human capital leading to
democracy. In the past, physical
capital was the driver of economic
growth.
As a result, the owners of physical capital became wealthy, ruling elites. With human capital,
however, the educated individual drives growth. As educated
individuals become more valuable and common, it becomes
harder for the elites to control
them, and so, democracy slowly
develops.
In Iran and Egypt, it is likely
the case that the elites are playing a losing game. In one country, the fight is loud and dramatic,
and in the other, it is quiet and
gradual.
And while they are going about
it in different ways, both are fighting for the same things: freedom,
democracy and equality. Given
a choice about where to live,
Americans may have differences.
But when given a choice about who
to support, the side of democracy
prevails.

BRYCE STUCKI
-regular columnist
-senior
-economics major

4

january 24, 2012

GUMBY’S

PIZZA & WINGS

Regular Edition

Blacksburg’s Legendary Late Night Pizza

Today’s Birthday Horoscope: Teamwork is the bottom line. Do more

than your share, and call for reinforcements when you need them. There’s
profitability in partnership, and working together grows the community.
Stick up for each other. Your friendships pay it forward this year.

Wrestling comes back to beat North Carolina, 29-12
ADAM NORMAN
sports staff writer
The No. 23-ranked Virginia Tech
wrestling team took care of business
against the North Carolina Tar Heels
Sunday afternoon, winning 29-12
and improving its ACC record to
4-1 for the season.
After the first five matches, the
Hokies were down 12-7, but they
went on to win out and get a technical fall from No. 1-ranked Devin
Carter (133 lbs) and a pin from No.
20 Zach Neibert (141 lbs).
Although shy of breaking the
record for attendance at a wrestling match in Cassell Coliseum,
the 2,422 fans made their presence
apparent in crucial situations, helping propel the Hokies to key wins
during the meet.
“We won a couple matches there
because of the crowd,” said Kevin
Dresser, head coach. “You know that

Hokie Nation is good. I am glad they
came out; I appreciate them.”
The afternoon’s first match saw
unranked junior Cameron Hurd
(157 lbs) almost come up with a
huge upset against UNC’s 19thranked Corey Mock. After getting
taken down at the beginning of the
first and second rounds, Hurd came
up with two big reversals to keep it
close.
Down by two points, Hurd went
for the takedown with just seconds
remaining. But he was unable to get
position for the points and lost the
match 8-6.
Tech went 2-2 in the next four
matches, including an 8-0 win by
No. 8 Pete Yates (165 lbs), giving the
Tar Heels a 12-7 lead. Heavyweight
Chris Penny then gave Tech a big
win, followed by 125-pounder Ty
Mitch getting a major decision, putting the Hokies back on top.
The top-ranked Carter came to the
mat, dominated his opponent and

got a technical fall, using his speed to
get easy takedowns and an armbar
to score a majority of his points.
“I knew the kid from North
Carolina wasn’t that good, and I had
to get bonus points for the team, so
I figured I’d just run the bar,” Carter
said.
Coming in as the underdog,
Neibert came away with Tech’s
only pin of the day in the second
round against 18th-ranked Evan
Henderson. From the beginning,
Neibert dominated the match, using
Coach Dresser’s advice and tiring
out Henderson.
“The first couple of times it was all
about scoring points,” Neibert said.
“I know when you put someone in
a position like that they are bound
to get tired.”
Shortly into the second period,
Neibert got a takedown and continued working on Henderson getting
another near fall. Neibert kept working at it, wearing down Henderson

enough to get both shoulder blades
on the mat and to pick up the pin
for the Hokies.
“Its like what coach Dresser tells
us: ‘No matter who you are, you can’t
chop down a tree with one swing,’”
Neibert said. “It was repetitive, and
I kept trying it — (I) got in different positions to make him more
weary of where I was being, so I set
myself up and chopped away at the
tree.”
In the final match, Nick Brascetta
(149 lbs) was down by a point and
got a takedown after a reset with
only five seconds left in the match to
secure a win.
After two consecutive impressive
wins, coach Dresser was ecstatic
about how Brascetta and Neibert
performed.
“Its great Zach and Nick are a good
one-two punch for us,” Dresser said.
The Hokies wrestling team faces
two tough challenges next week at
No. 12 Oklahoma on Friday and

AUSTEN MEREDITH / SPPS

Top-ranked Devin Carter (133) gets into position against Brock LiVorio.
their last home match of the season
against No. 25 ODU at 6 p.m. on
Sunday in Cassell.
“Well it doesn’t get it any easier,
it gets tougher next week,” Dresser

said. “We’ve got one more week.
We’ve been grinding, and then we
get a week off, and we are going to
need it. But we have one more week
to get it done.”

Hokies take down Blue Devils
MIKE PLATANIA
sports staff writer
Virginia Tech showed Duke why
it’s ranked No. 23 in the nation on
Saturday night by defeating the Blue
Devils 30-6.
Duke was searching for that elusive
first win of the year, but fell to 0-4 on
the season and 0-2 in the ACC.
After a forfeit from the Blue Devils
in the 125 lbs weight class, Nick
Vetterlein opened the meet for the
Hokies at 197 lbs and set the tone by
striking early against Duke’s Brian
Self.
Vetterlein scored a takedown early
in the first period before finishing strong in the third. The Hokies
would make a habit of starting strong
and finishing stronger.
Following Vetterlein was heavyweight Chris Penny, who went
against Duke’s Andrew Fulk. Penny
performed better than the 8-2 score
showed, as Fulk’s only points came
on escapes.
All eyes were on Tech’s Devin
Carter, who ranks No. 1 in the nation
at 133 lbs Carter wrestled Duke’s
Brandon Gambucci, who was no
slouch.
Gambucci gave Carter all he could

Help Wanted
BARTENDING! $300/ DAY POTENTIAL
No Experience Necessary. Training
Available
1-800-965-6520 EXT210
LOOKING FOR A team of 2-3 workers
to help assemble Ikea furniture at our
new office on Main Street. There is a fair
amount to be assembled and it needs to
be done asap. $15/ hour. Send an email to
info@nestrealty

handle, taking him down twice
early in the first period, leading for
much of the match. The third period
started with Carter trailing 6-4, but
he defended his No. 1 ranking by
tying him early with a takedown and
pinning him shortly after. The win
pushed Carter to 24-1 on the year.
The star sophomore was critical
of himself, even after recording the
victory.
“Individually, I didn’t wrestle that
well. Just a bad match,” Carter said.
“I pulled it out — I had to — but it
wasn’t good”
Zach Neibert was Tech’s other
ranked wrestler in action Saturday
night, and he competed against
Duke’s Tanner Hough at 141 lbs.
Neibert followed Vetterlein’s example of scoring early by recording two
takedowns in the first period and
went on to win 9-3.
Neibert was pleased with his performance but recognized there is still
plenty of work to be done.
“It’s just a stepping stone to the
ACC tournament. As far as what I
did individually, I still have a lot of
progress to do,” Neibert said.
The Hokies’ winning streak came
to a halt when Nick Brascetta lost to
AJ Guardado, 149 lbs. Despite the
low final score of 3-1, Brascetta took

Guardado to overtime before losing
in sudden death. Duke got its first
points of the match and brought the
score to 21-3.
Tech’s Cameron Hurd had a thrilling match against Immanuel KerrBrown, in which both wrestlers
traded blows throughout the first
two periods. Hurd eventually pulled
away late and won 13-7.
Similarly, Tech’s 165-pound
wrestler Matt Stephens beat the
Blue Devils’ Ryan Harding 8-5
by extending his lead in the third
period.
The team’s final victory of the
match came when Chris Moon beat
Randy Roden by a score of 6-4 in the
174-pound contest.
One of the few bright spots for
Duke was how they finished the
meet on a high note. Diego Bencomo
(184) beat Tech’s John Dickson
in the final match of the night,
6-3.
Despite the Hokies’ dominating
win, Tech head coach Kevin Dresser
wasn’t very pleased with his team’s
performance.
“Flat, flat, flat” Dresser said. “We
were flat. We got the ‘W’, but we
didn’t do a good job.”
By beating Duke, Tech improved
to 5-3, and 3-1 in the ACC.

Lifestyle & Community
have a big announcement, selling things, need help?
Free for VT students! Place an ad or announcement at
collegiatetimes.com, visit our business office at 618 N. Main St. 9
am- 5pm Monday-Friday, or call (540) 961-9860. Students can
come into 618 N. Main St. to place a free ad.
Rates as low as 32 cents per word, contengent on the number of days to run. Prepaid. 15 word minimum. Cash,
check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. Deadline: 3 pm 3 business days prior to publication.

ANSWER: How fast a person’s BAC rises varies
with a number of factors:
1) The number of drinks. The more you drink, the higher the BAC.
2) How fast you drink. When alcohol is consumed quickly, you will
reach a higher BAC than when it is consumed over a longer
period of time.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)
You’re the top dog, and you know it.
You’re back in control, but don’t let
it make you lazy. Continue growing.
Change is good now. Play with it.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
There’s no time for procrastination
now. Complete a project in private.
Listen only to the positive voice in
your head. Hot chocolate could be
nice.
Aries (March 21-April 19)
Focus on home and family warms
the hearth. It’s good medicine... take
as much as you can, with tea and
company. Renew your spirit to go
back out into the world again.

Taurus (April 20-May 20)
Changes could seem abrupt to others.
Why not think it over? Handle the
basics, do the routines and then take
a walk to get lost in thought. No need
for decisions.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)
An arrogant mood could take over,
if you allow it to. Grand statements
from the past could echo back. Own
up to them if that happens. Laugh at
yourself.

Gemini (May 21-June 21)
You have this tendency to say yes
when people ask, and then the tasks
pile up. Keep checking stuff of the list,
and earn some time for yourself.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)
Practical efforts are favored, with
Mars retrograde in your sign. There
could be changes. Consult with
experts and partners. Rules simplify.

Cancer (June 22-July 22)
Your self-discipline is impressive,
but you don’t have to go it alone, you
know. You have plenty of friends.
Everyone wants to contribute. You
would do the same.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)
Concentrate on great service, and
the orders lood in. The workload
is getting intense. Consider the
previously impossible, and listen to
your partner.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)
You don’t need “no more trouble.” The
love of your family is available, as long
as you’re willing to harvest it. Fixing a
leaky faucet can save money.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)
It’s easier to express your thoughts or
to start a new writing project. Find an
answer in meditation. Others depend
on you. Share your peace of mind.
Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)
Figure out new ways to bring in
income, without sacri icing your core
values. Bring the money in before
you send it back out. Be proud of our
contribution.

3) Your gender. Women generally have less water and more body
fat per pound of body weight than men. Alcohol does not go into
fat cells as easily as other cells, so more alcohol remains in the
blood of women.
4) Your weight. The more you weigh, the more water is present in
your body. This water dilutes the alcohol and lowers the BAC.
5) Food in your stomach. Absorption will be slowed if you’ve had
something to eat.

Have a question you need answered about
the law? Email your questions to
studybreak@gmail.com with the title ‘Law School.’
Answers provided by: dmv.state.va.us